Propelling apparatus for air-ships.



PATENTED JULY 5, 1904. A. v. WINBGARDEN. PROPELLING APPARATUS FOR AIR SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES:

A TTORIVE Y8 UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

AREY VQWINEGARDEN, OF LEON, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO WILSON MARTIN VVABREN, OF LEON, KANSAS.

PROPELLING APPARATUSv FOR AIR-SHIPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,512, dated uly 5, 1904. Application filed August 27, 1903. Serial No. 170,997- (No model.)

m To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AREY V. WINEGARDEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Leon, in the county of Butler and State of Kansas, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Propelling Apparatus for Air-Ships, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improved mechanical movement or apparatus adapted for several uses, and particularly for lifting or buoying the body of an air-ship or flying-machine and also for propelling the same.

Broadly stated, the invention is embodied in two series of endless chains or bands that are spaced apart and travel on sprocket-wheels or pulleys arranged in a peculiar manner in a rigid frame and a series of sails or flexible sheets which are so connected with the said chains or equivalent that when traveling in one direction they are expand ed and stretched, so as to act upon the air with the greatest effect, and when moving in the opposite or reverse direction they collapse ancl practically feather, so as to offer minimum resistance to progress through the air.

The details of construction, arrangement,

,and operation of parts are as hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, 1n wl11ch Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the apparatus. Flg. 2 1s a front elevatlon of the apparatus. Flg. 3 1s a perspectlve View of a portion of the apparatus, showing one of the sails or sheets distended. Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating the attachment to the enclless chains of the bars which carry the sails.

I employ a light but strong skeleton frame composed of two parallel bars 1, connected by cross-bars at top and bottom, and two pairs of arms 2 and 2, which are attached to the bars 1 and extend at right angles thereto. These arms will in practice be suitably braced, so that they maintain their position rigidly. The two pairs of endless traveling chains, metal tapes, or bands which I employ are arranged as follows: The chains 3 run on sprocket-wheels 4L and A, which are mounted, respectively, on axles 5 and 5*, arranged transversely in the lower and upper portions of the frame composed of the bars 1 and its transverse connections. Adjaccnt to the large sprocket-wheels 4 and 4 and directly in line with the axes of the same are journaled two small wheels or pinions 6 and 6. The chains 3 run over the rear sides of the wheels 6 and 6. The Wheels 4 are keyed to the shaft 5,

which is the driving-shaft, it being in practice provided with a crank, pinion, or other form of driving medium. The other set of chains 7 run on large wheels 8 and 8, which, are mounted alongside the wheels 4 and 4 on the same shafts 5 and 5, respectively. As will be seen by inspection of Figs. 2 and 3, the wheels 8 and 8 are arranged exterior to the wheels A and 4c. The wheels 8 are keyed upon the shaft 5, so as to rotate therewith in the same manner as the wheels 1. The wheels 4 and S at the upper end of the frame may be keyed to the shaft 5 or run freely there on, as the case may be. At the outer ends of the horizontal arms 2 and 2 are journaled' two small sprocketnvheels or pinions 9 and 9, over which the chains 7 run from the large wheels 8 and 8, as will be readily understood. It will thus be seen that there are two sets'of sprocket-gearing and two sets or pairs of chains, all of which are operated together and in the direction indicated by the arrows. By rotating the shaft 5 in the direction shown by the arrow, Fig. 1, it is apparent that the two chains will travel practically at the same speed and that their forward or front I bights will travel downward and the rear ones upward, whereby they are adapted to carry flexible sails or sheets 10, as shown. The said sails are attached at their ends to cross-bars 11 and 12, which are attached to and connect transversely the two sets of chains 3 and 7. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the attachment to the chains may be made by means of a lateral extension or ear 13, which is formed on certain links separated by a due interval of space. Slats or bars 11 may be made of thin sheet metal and riveted to the cars 13. It is to be understood, however, that I do not limit myself to this'particular method of attachment or connection of the chains and bars. As shown in the drawings, the ends of the salls 10 are provided with a hem or pocket, through which the bars pass. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the pinions or small wheels 6 9 and 6 9 are spaced from each other by nearly the length of the arms 2 and 2 and that this distance is practically the same as the length of the sails 10. The latter being attached to the two chains 3 and 7 it is apparent that they must be expanded and stretched their full length in passing through the space between the arms 2 and 2 and that upon'passing down below the arms 2 the chains 3 and 7 then approach each other, the sails will begin to collapse or fold, which operation becomes complete upon passing around the lower wheels 4 and 8. The sails 10 remain folded or collapsed in passing upward between the lower and upper end of the frame and begin to expand again immediately after passing forward beyond the upper wheels 4 and 8, as indicated in the drawings, Fig. 1. Thus so long as the shaft 5 is driven the chains 3 and 7 will be caused to travel on the pulleys arranged as described, whereby the sails 10 will be alternately expanded and collapsed as they pass downward and upward,respectively. In other words, the sails are expanded and held stretched while passing downward and are folded and practically feathered in passing upward, so that in moving in the first direction they offer the greatest possible resistance to the air and in passing upward they offer a minimum resistance. It is apparent that the lifting or buoyant tendency of the sails in passing downward will be measured by their dimensions and the rapidity of their movement. WVhen the apparatus isapplied practically, as, for instance, in connection with the body of an air-ship or flying-machine, they will serve to push and lift the latter, and the sails while stretched will perform the functions of aeroplanes, thus assisting materially in supporting the air-ship or flying-machine independently of the buoyant or lifting power due to their downward movement.

It will be understood that when attached to an air-ship or equivalent the apparatus will be arranged in a vertical position for mere buoyant or lifting effect and in a horizontal position when required to act as a propeller. Th us the arrangement and attachment will be varied according to conditions. It will be understood, further, that I may employ any preferred form of pulley in place of the sprocket-wheels and pinions described.

Bars 13 and 14 are attached to the respective pairs of chains 3 and 7 at points between the respective bars 11.and12 and at a distance therefrom that they are adapted to press and hold the folded sails between them, as shown. The sails are thus kept from flapping or flying about. It will be understood that the pairs of adjacent sprocket-wheels 4 8 and 4 8 may be made as one solid wheel having two rows of sprockets or teeth.

What I claim isl. The improved mechanical movement comprising a suitable rigid frame, duplicate sets of sprocket-wheels arranged at its ends, two pairs of endless chains running on said wheels which are so arranged that the two chains of each pair are separated by a considerable space during a portion of their movement and brought close to each other during another portion of the movement, flexible sails or sheets attached to the respective members of each pair of chains and adapted to be expanded and held stretched during a portion of their travel with the chains and collapsed or folded during the remainder of their movement, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a mechanical movement, the combination, with a longitudinal frame having laterally-diverging arms, ,of two sprocket-wheels keyed on the same shaft in both the upper and the lower ends of the frame, two like wheels journaled intermediately 0f the firstnamed wheels, the several Wheels on each shaft being arranged in pairs and spaced apart as described, sets of sprocket-wheels, 6, 6, 9

and 9, and two endless chains running upon I the sprocket-wheels composing the inner sets and two other chains runnlng on the sprocketwheels of the outer sets, the said chains running close together during more than half of their movement and being widely separated during the remainder of their movement, whereby they are adapted to distend flexible sheets and allow the same to fold or collapse as described.

3. In the mechanical movement specified, the combination with the frame, sprocketwheels, two sets of endless chains running on said wheels, and flexible sails attached at their ends to the respective sets of chains, of bars connecting the two chains of each pair, transversely, and located in suitable proximity to the points of attachment of the sails, whereby the sails when folded are pressed and held between them, as described.

AREY V. WINEGARDEN.

Witnesses:

SOLON O. KEMoN, Amos W. HART. 

